Hackers and Scammers are unwanted but an integral part of any financial system. Long time before the digital era, there were kinds of scams which looted hundred of thousands of $ by public. As the system evolves, scammers also upgrade themselves. The only way to protect ourselves from scammers and hackers is to keep ourselves update and vigilant while performing any activity in the financial system.
Here I want to disclose that few months before, on April 16th 2022 I became prey of hacker and lost around $8000 worth of crypto from my Metamask wallet. Here is detail π Thief emptied my Metamask wallet, stole about $8000 in few minutes. Please keep your wallet safe.. After getting my Metamask compromised, I was totally shocked and couldn't find why it happened. But after one day, analysing all my activities, I found why that incident happened.π Lessons I learned from my Metamask Hack!
Since here we are dealing in crypto, so will discuss how we can save ourselves from hacking and scam. Before that, we must understand the way hackers target their prey.
By analysing all the possible reasons for becoming a victim of hacking, you will find that the main reason for this is our GREED.
Common types of scams in crypto world
Phishing
Scammers use different ways to hack the wallet key. My Metamask was also hacked through phishing attack. I tried to download a software from unknown link and within a couple of hours my Metamask was compromised.
How to become safe from Phishing I learned a lesson from my hacking that we should always avoid to download, free software in the system we are using to deal our crypto asset, specially from any unknown link.
The system should not be shared with any other person, including family members.
Giveaway luring
Everybody likes free money, but sometimes it takes a toll! In crypto world, giveaway is a very common practice. Giveaway from any reputed organization is worth to claim, but sometimes we overlooked that who floated the giveaway and what is asking to claim that free money. In greed, we give the amount asked by him to claim giveaway and then get cheated.
How to become safe from Fake Giveaway, Never deposit or stake any crypto casually to get giveaway without proper information.
Fake websites and apps
Scammers design fake apps and websites looks similar to original websites and lure users to come on their fake sites. Generally by sending link in messages or posting short link on fake social media handles. Once user landed their fake site, it is difficult to differentiate between original and fake. AS soon as user enter password/key, their wallet is hacked.
How to become safe from Fake website/apps, Always log in to site through bookmark or by typing in browser. Never click a link from an unknown source to login.
Rug pulling
In DeFi world, I experienced rug pulling several times. When some project is performing good, so many similar or fork projects come give excellent returns in short duration. E.g. when Tomb Finance on Fantom was delivering handsome returns, so many Tomb fork projects pop upped and in the expectations of multifold returns I also invested in them. After a few days of regular return, the project owner dumped all tokens and ran away. All social media accounts were also deleted related to that project.
How to become safe from Rug pulling, It is very difficult to predict the mind of any project owner, but care must be taken before investing in any such project. Anonymous projects are more prone to scams, so it should be avoided and if the is not anonymous a thorough check of background of project owner and his/her social media account must be done.
ICO scams
ICOs are old-fashioned now but in the past so many ICOs were launched and sold the tokens on high price. After listing on exchange, either all tokens are dumped, or the projects was failed due to unclear roadmap.
How to become safe from ICO scams, By doing detailed research about any new project bringing ICO we can save ourselves from any scam.
Aggressive and Fake Advertisements
To create hype about any new project in the public, sometimes scammers take help of aggressive marketing strategy and propagate the false impression among their target audience. They also do not hesitate to use fake endorsement of any celebrity to promote their project to dupe people.
How to become safe from Aggressive and Fake advertisements scams, One of the best ways to avoid such scam is never believe any advertisement campaign. Only use any advertisement as a basic source of information about any project. After that, doing own research and accumulating information from trusted sources is the best way to protect ourselves from such scams.
Pump and Dump scam
It is very common for anybody to get messages on social media, specially on Telegram and Discord, offering to join Pump and Dump group. If you join the group, they will encourage you to invest, and possibly you will be happy with some attractive return. But in the long run, you will be dumped anyway.
How to become safe from Pump and Dump scams, Keep your greed away and never be a part of any such group.
In a nutshell, we can save ourselves from scammers and hackers by being vigilant and observing some symptoms carefully.
If any project-
- Promises for high return in short duration
- Bombarding with excessive marketing
- Offering high value giveaway
- Sending any link continuously to encourage click on that
- Does not have any white paper or very unclear white paper
- Project is anonymous.
